Josh Kroenke Withstands Media Criticism After Karl Firing, Comes Into His Own With Nuggets

Kroenke did not read newspapers after firing Karl to avoid seeing criticism

Nuggets President Josh Kroenke has "shown a willingness to make the hard, sometimes unpopular choices" since his father, team Owner Stan Kroenke, elevated him to the role three years ago, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of YAHOO SPORTS. Josh Kroenke as much as anything "didn't believe the franchise could function with a disgruntled" coach in George Karl, who was heading into the final year of his contract this season, "obsessed over an extension the organization wasn't prepared to grant him." Kroenke said of firing Karl in June, "I didn't read the newspaper for a long time this summer, because I just didn't want to come across a story slamming me." Still, he has "withstood the scrutiny" and "long impressed people with his determination to make his own way." Kroenke most of all has "made these Nuggets his own now -- front office to coaching staff to roster." In a life where people have "constantly underestimated him, doubting the resolve, the desire, of a child who will be king, Kroenke has slowly, surely constructed a resume of significance in three-plus years overseeing the Nuggets." Wojnarowski: "Everything gets harder now; everything more complicated." Kroenke said, "I've been around pro sports since an early age, with the NFL, the NBA, soccer, and I've picked up things. But I've also found my own path. There's always a fear of failure in this family. I don't want to feel out of place in it. I want to go prove things to myself. I think that I can figure out people pretty quickly, that I've developed a good sense of reading them" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/17).